Isabel Ortega-Insaurralde, José Manuel Latorre-Estivalis, Andre Luis Costa-da-Silva, Agustina Cano, Teresita C Insausti, Héctor Salas Morales, Gina Pontes, Martín Berón de Astrada, Sheila Ons, Matthew DeGennaro, Romina B Barrozo
BACKGROUND: Obligate blood-feeding insects obtain the nutrients and water necessary to ensure survival from the vertebrate blood. The internal taste sensilla, situated in the pharynx, evaluate the suitability of the ingested food. Here, through multiple approaches, we characterized the pharyngeal organ (PO) of the hematophagous kissing bug Rhodnius prolixus to determine its role in food assessment. The PO, located antero-dorsally in the pharynx, comprises eight taste sensilla that become bathed with the incoming blood...
March 13, 2024: BMC Biology